With a bountiful garden and a little imagination you can produce wholesome gifts that come from the earth, to give from the heart, writes Amy Willesee.

'tis the season to be jolly and for the most part we have that bit down pat (give or take a couple of Christmas Eve queues and car-park woes). Somewhat more challenging, though: 'tis also the season to be thoughtful and thrifty.

Fortunately, with a vegie patch in full swing, all it will take is a bit of creativity to make beautiful gifts this Christmas.

The garden is lush with produce at the moment and the preserving possibilities are endless. Whether it be bread and butter cucumbers, a spicy eggplant chutney, semi-dried tomatoes in olive oil or freshly made pesto, all it needs is a handwritten label and a pretty ribbon to be a heartfelt little present.

A favourite gift from our kitchen garden for the past couple of years has been homemade lemon cordial. It's the perfect choice for the kids' teachers, because it's easy enough for the children to make with little assistance and they can unleash their artistic skills on a handmade tag to hang around the bottle neck. Team a bottle of lemon cordial with a bunch of sunflowers that the kids have grown and you have a joyous gift brimming with personality.

Still in the drinks department, if you have surplus fruit from your trees why not infuse it in spirits? My husband's Aunty Eileen is famous for her Christmas cumquats in brandy, but you could experiment, perhaps with cherries in vodka or mint in gin.

For something more substantial, source some rustic baskets or elegant gift bags and fill them with a variety of your creations, focusing on anything red and green (think bottled cherries, tomato sauces and pickles) for some traditional Christmas flair.

Alternatively, ditch the processing altogether and simply fill a basket with fresh produce such as fat, shiny eggplants, heirloom tomatoes and freshly laid eggs.

Even if you only have a herb garden, there are still plenty of options. Dry rosemary, thyme or bay leaves and package them in pretty cellophane bags with a corresponding recipe. Make herbed butter or salt, herb-infused oil and vinegar, or go all out and use ingredients such as citrus peel, lavender, chamomile, mint, lemon balm and echinacea to blend up personalised herbal teas.

And for fellow green thumbs, surely the best gift is to share the love from your own crop. Strike a cutting from a prized specimen and pot it up, or slip a packet of seeds saved from a favourite plant inside a pair of gardening gloves or a terracotta pot. Every time my mother-in-law visits she admires my ruby-red rhubarb, so this year I'll divide one of my plants and transfer half to her backyard. It won't cost a cent, but I know she'll love it. And there's something wonderful about the connection that sharing a beloved plant brings. Plus there's not a single Christmas Eve queue or car park woe to endure.

Other earthy gift ideas

Garden tools

Fruit trees

Cookbooks

Kitchen Garden Cooking with Kids by Stephanie Alexander (Lantern, $45)

Jamie at Home by Jamie Oliver (Michael Joseph, $65)

The Preserving Book (Dorling Kindersley, $39.95)

Looking for more outdoor inspiration? Check out our Outdoor section.